


Mist of a Dream

by Callmecelisa



Category: John Mulaney - Fandom, Nick Kroll - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:49:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25396429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callmecelisa/pseuds/Callmecelisa
Summary: John Mulaney is a mild-mannered banker who goes out with his assistant branch manager, Nick Kroll, for a Boy's Night, and runs into someone he was not expecting to see...
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	Mist of a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a story here. Hope you like it! <3

John checked his watch as he buttoned the cuff of his left sleeve. 8:15. Not too bad by his standards. He was just about to be heading out once he got his tie and jacket on. His briefcase already sat waiting for him on his kitchen counter with his phone and wallet already sitting in his pockets, their weight almost reminding him to get a move on. As he threw the tie over his neck, there was a knock at his door. He walked briskly to the door and looked through the peephole to see his neighbor Nina patiently waiting outside. He opened the door and her face brightened. “Morning,” she greeted him.  
“Good morning, Nina. How are you?”  
“I’m good, how are you?”  
“Oh, I’m fine, just getting ready for work. What can I help you with?” he asked.  
“I came to give you your mail. It got mixed up in mine again,” she explained, handing over several envelopes and an IKEA catalog.  
“Oh, thank you. You could have just slid them under my door, I would have gotten them eventually.”  
“I know, it’s just I kinda wanted to ask you something…a favor, actually,” she clarified.  
“What’s up?” he asked, tucking the mail under his arm, giving his full attention.  
“So, I’m taking my GE Math class this semester and we are covering interest and compound interest and so on. I’m not so great at math as it is, and this new material is a bit more confusing to me. I was wondering since you work at a bank and you probably explain it to people all the time, would you be able to maybe help me?”  
“Like tutoring?” John asked, still fumbling with his tie.  
“Yeah, um, tutoring,” Nina said, slightly distracted by his clumsy fingers. “Do you want some help with that?” John’s arms fell at his side in defeat. “Sorry, I can never get it just right,” he admitted as she carefully reached for his tie, adjusting the length of it. “You were saying?”  
“Yes, so I was wondering if you could tutor me on that subject. I can pay you for your time. I know you’re incredibly busy with work, and it would be no problem.”  
“What? No, I couldn’t accept that. I’d be happy to help you,” John said as she knotted the tie against his collar.  
“Really? Thank you, I really appreciate it. What day works for you? I’m free on the weekends after 11.”  
“How’s one o’ clock tomorrow? My place?” he suggested.  
“That’s perfect,” she beamed as she folded his shirt collar over the crisp Windsor. “You’re all set.”  
“Speaking of perfect,” John said, touching the knot and feeling it rest perfectly against his shirt. “Wow. Thank you.”  
“No problem. So tomorrow at one?”  
“You got it,” he confirmed with a smile.  
“Alright,” she began, slowly backing away towards her apartment. “Thank you again. Have a good day at work.”  
“Have a good day, Nina,” he replied, stepping back into his apartment.

“Hey Mulaney, you done for the day?”

John lifted his head from his desktop computer to see the assistant branch manager, Nick Kroll, approaching his desk. “Yeah, just logging out,” he answered, logging out of his user account and shutting down his system. “Got any plans tonight?” Nick asked, taking a seat on the edge of John’s desk, and inadvertently on the files that rested there.  
“Oh, uh, I actually need those…,” he said carefully, trying to gently pull the files out from under Nick.  
“Oops. Sorry about that,” he said, standing for a split second for John to take them and put them in his filing cabinet. “So? Do you have plans?”  
“No, just heading home. You?”  
“Me and some of the guys are actually gonna grab some drinks and have a bit of a night out. You should join us.”  
“Oh, thank you for the invite, but I’m kind of tired. Plus, I have some things to take care of tomorrow,” he explained.  
“How early?” Nick asked, not giving up so easily.  
“One o’ clock,” John said, making Nick chuckle.  
“I wouldn’t call that early. Come on, join us. Cut loose a little bit. When’s the last time you had a boy’s night?”  
“I, uh, don’t…Well, I haven’t had time to really…do that,” John shyly admitted.  
“Seriously? That’s it, you’re coming,” Nick decided.  
“Really, it’s fine,” John tried to explain as Nick reached for his stack of sticky notes and pulled a pen from his breast pocket. “Look, here’s my number…and here…is where we will be,” he said, scribbling down an address and handing it to John.  
“What’s the place called?” John asked, trying to place the street in his mind.  
“Not telling you,” Nick teased, “Call me when you’re outside, okay? Ten o’ clock.” He got up and walked away from John’s desk before he could refuse. John sighed and tucked the note inside his jacket, gathering the rest of his things and getting up to leave. 

“We’re here,” John’s cab driver announced, “Twenty-four fifty.” John withdrew his wallet and gave him thirty dollars.  
“You need change?” the cabbie asked.  
“No, that’s alright. Thank you,” John said opening the door and stepping out onto the sidewalk.  
“Have fun in there,” the cabbie laughed. John looked at him with confusion, not sure what he meant by the comment. “Alright,” he muttered to himself as he pulled out his phone and searched for Nick’s newly saved number in his contacts, tapping on his name. “Hello?”  
“Hey, Nick, it’s John. I think I’m outside, I’m not really sure which bar it is but, I should be in the right area.”  
“I’ll be out in a bit, hang on,” Nick said before hanging up. John looked around, trying to guess which was the correct building, catching his reflection in a window. He smoothed his hair, lightly pulling on his jacket. He was a bit nervous about tonight. Nick’s father was the owner of the bank they worked at and though it seemed ridiculous to some degree in his head, John feared he would jeopardize any chance of upward mobility in the company if he didn’t show up, or failed to impress Nick. So he tried to dress sharper than usual to demonstrate his potential. He exhaled carefully as he straightened his tie, regretting his decision not to ask Nina to tie it for him one more time. 

“Hey, you made it!” a voice cheerfully said. John turned to see Nick standing nearby, pleased to see that he showed up. He walked up to him. “Wow, you look so serious,” he said, giving John a once over. John could feel his face warm with embarrassment. “Oh, uh,” he struggled, not sure what to say about his failed wardrobe choice. “Sorry,” was all he could murmur.  
“It’s all good. Doesn’t look that bad,” Nick observed. John’s fists clenched, trying to regain composure.  
“So, where is everyone else?” he asked, eager to move on from his faux-pas.  
“Follow me,” Nick said with a knowing smile. He brought him down an alley where a bouncer stood by a door. “He’s with me, Emilio,” Nick reassured him. He silently nodded, keeping an eye on John as he held the door open for them. As they entered, distant music pulsed through the atmosphere as they walked down a dim corridor. “Where are we?” John asked, growing a little anxious as he followed Nick.  
“You’ll see.” 

They reached another door, and when Nick opened it, John froze.

Inside the extravagantly decorated ballroom were numerous women in various stages of undress, effervescent lights spilling over them. For a split second, John thought that Nick had made a mistake, taken a wrong turn in the dark hallway. But when Nick guided him to a private table where the rest of his coworkers were already sitting, it dawned on him that this was no mistake.

“Whoa, you got Mulaney to come out? Alright!” one of them said as they reach for their drink and took a swig. “What’d you do, Nick? Kidnap him?”  
“Hey, hey, don’t scare him off,” Nick said in John’s defense.  
“I think it’s too late for that,” another chimed in, pointing out John’s meek expression as he looked around.  
“He’ll be fine, he just needs a drink. Hey Stacy,” Nick called after a cocktail waitress that passed by.  
“Yes love?”  
“Can you get us a round of Patron shots please?”  
“Chilled with orange slices?”  
“You know it babe,” Nick smiled, “on my tab.”  
“I’ll be right back,” she said before sauntering away. John nervously pulled him aside.  
“Nick, I don’t think I can stay here.”  
“Why? Are you married?”  
“What? No-,”  
“Do you have a girlfriend?”  
“No, but-,”  
“Then what’s the problem?” Nick scoffed.  
“It’s a…strip club,” John whispered, keeping his head down.  
“Yeah and?” Nick said, waiting for a better excuse from his milquetoast colleague. But John’s shy demeanor said enough. “Oh, shit…you’ve never been to a strip club, have you?”  
“Could you lower your voice?” John asked, but Nick couldn’t help but laugh. John looked down at the floor, feeling no end to his embarrassment.  
“How have you never been to one?” Nick asked.  
“Sorry, it’s not on my to-do list at the moment,” John said sarcastically.  
“Well, it’s no wonder you’re so tense. You need to unwind, big time. No better place for that than here,” Nick said. Just then Stacy reappeared with a tray of Patron shots laced with orange slices. “Just in time,” Nick grinned, taking two for him and John before Stacy served the rest of the group. “Cheers boys!” The eager bankers hollered loudly in agreement before downing their shots. Nick returned his attention back to John, who was looking at his shot like it meant selling his soul to the Devil. Nick clinked his shot against John’s “Here’s to the night,” he toasted with a wink. John resignedly drank the shot, biting down on the orange slice to extinguish the wildfire that spread in his throat. “’Atta boy. Come on, take a seat,” Nick encouraged. John stumbled to a lounge chair and sat down, unbuttoning his jacket to avoid creasing. Nick withdrew an envelope from within his jacket and fingered through it, pulling out some twenty dollar bills and handing it to John. “No, Nick, I cant-,”  
“They don’t take cards here, Mulaney,” Nick teased. Before John could refuse, a dancer came to their stage and began to swivel around the pole. John’s lips could no longer form phrases of objection, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes transfixed as she tossed her hair back, running a hand over her breast. Nick nudged his knee with the money, breaking his focus. “Go play,” he ordered as John discreetly accepted it. He saw his coworkers throwing several bills to the dancer who continued to sway, unaffected by their lascivious stares. She glanced up at John, eyes lingering on him as he watched her roll her hips down to the floor of the stage, her body extending to crawl in his direction as Nick encouraged him to get up at tip her. He approached her with apprehension as she lay herself back, her thighs pressed together as she offered the side of her hip for him to pay her. John gently reached for the lace waistband of her thong, tucking several bills beneath it. His coworkers cheered and whistled, as if he had achieved some rite of passage.

“See? Was that so hard?” Nick asked. “It’s his first time, Chantal.”  
“Really? That’s so cute,” she commented as she nonchalantly slipped John’s tie out from behind his jacket. He laughed nervously, straightening his tie back into its place. She sat up. “Do you want a dance, sweetie?”  
“Oh, uh, n-no thank you, that’s erm, alright,” he stuttered, trying to remain polite.  
“Are you sure?” she questioned, sensing his hesitation as she walked her fingers up to his face, lightly grazing her red manicured nail along his cheek. “Mm-hm,” he mumbled as he shuddered beneath her touch.  
“How much is a dance?” one of his coworkers asked curiously.  
“One hundred, no touching,” she replied, turning her attention away from John to face her new potential client. John took the opportunity to escape, walking quickly to the end of club where the restrooms were, careful not to bump into any of the scantily clad cocktail waitresses. He had to have said “excuse me” about eight times before he finally reached the bathroom. He stood at the sink, running the water and wetting his face to cool down. He let his head hang between his shoulders as he chastised himself for lacking confidence. He couldn’t understand how easy it was for men like Nick to approach women, while he struggled to maintain simple eye contact. 

What was I thinking? John thought to himself. The night had only worsened. He had hoped maybe staying would prove his potential, but all he had done was embarrass himself. I should just leave, he decided as he straightened and exited the men’s room. 

Upon returning to the group, he saw several more dancers propositioning his obnoxious coworkers while Nick finished a conversation with a man he didn’t recognize. “I’ll take care of that for you,” John could hear him say before he walked away. He saw the man accept a rolled wad of money from Nick, putting it in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Thank you, man,” Nick said, his eyes turned their attention to John as he approached their area. “Hey, there you are. Where’d you go?”  
“Just had to step away for a second. But, um, I think I’m going to head out,” John began.  
“Come on, don’t be like that,” he complained. “I just got you a present.” The phrase threw John off and unease settled in his stomach.  
“What are you talking about?” he asked cautiously. He didn’t think he could handle any more surprises from Nick. A devilish grin spread on Nick’s lips as he gave a small nod, instructing John to look behind him. John turned to see a young woman standing before him in nothing but a lace burgundy bra, panties, and peep toe stilettoes. Her hair fell in waves around her painted face of glossed lips that parted in shock and glittering round eyes that signaled alarm.

Nina?

John felt his mouth go dry and his heart drop into his stomach. Surely this couldn’t be his next door neighbor. He looked further into her eyes, finding her there beneath the fake lashes and eyeliner. Jealous comments and crude compliments erupted from his coworkers.  
“Holy shit, Mulaney got lucky!”  
“She’s fucking hot.”  
“Why does he get a dance from her?”

John quickly turned away in embarrassment upon the realization that Nick had arranged for Nina to dance for him. “Nick, no I can’t,” he panicked.  
“Stop being a pussy and go with her,” he said, turning him back around to face Nina. His hand rested heavily on John’s shoulders, holding him tightly in place to prevent him from escaping. “Sorry about that,” Nick apologized, “Giselle, this is my friend John. John, this lovely lady is Giselle.” Nina extended her arm to shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said. John stared at her, then reluctantly shook her hand. “Excuse my friend here. It’s his first time, so he’s nervous,” Nick explained. “But I trust you can help him with that, right?”  
“Of course,” she agreed, smiling at Nick and then at John who was still struggling to process this Giselle person in front of him. Just this morning, Nina was giving him his mail. Now she was about to give him a lap dance. 

“Here you go,” Nick said, handing John another shot of Patron and an orange slice.  
“I fucking hate you,” John said as he looked down at the shot. Seeing it as the only way to help his nerves, he tossed it back, biting the orange and giving the peel to Nick. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” he encouraged as Nina took him by the hand and led him away.  
“How come you bought him a dance?” a drunk banker complained.  
“’Cause I can’t pay them enough money to come near you,” Nick replied.

As soon as they were out of earshot, a question spilled from John’s mouth. “I thought you worked at a restaurant?”  
“Look, I wasn’t expecting to see you here either. You don’t seem like the type, but I guess I’m in no place to judge,” she admitted.  
“I swear, this is the first time I’ve ever been to this kind of…establishment,” John said delicately. They arrived to a sector of the club designated for private dances. The room glowed with red mood lighting as Nina pulled John to take a seat on the couch. “You don’t have to do this,” he told her.  
“I kind of have to. Your friend is a big deal around here and he just paid a lot of money for me to dance for you,” she explained as she regarded her image in one of the wall to wall mirrors, combing her fingers through her hair. “I could just leave,” John suggested, turning to walk out. Nina rushed to grab his arm. “Don’t. If my boss sees you walk out, he’s going to assume I did something wrong and get pissed at me.”  
“But you didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“It doesn’t matter. Nick Kroll could make one phone call to his father and shut this place down if we don’t kiss his ass,” Nina said.  
“I can sneak out, your boss won’t see me,” John bargained.  
“He’s already seen you. There are cameras in the ceiling,” Nina said ad nauseam. John looked up to see several security cameras looming over the area. His eyes fell at Nina’s feet. “I can’t do this,” he breathed.  
“You don’t have to do anything,” Nina said, pushing him back onto the couch. “Just sit there and let me do my job.”

As the song changed, John unbuttoned his jacket, smoothing over the front of his shirt with a tremulous hand. Nina’s hips lightly moved, getting a feel for the rhythm. She swept her hair up behind her as she turned to face John, letting her tresses fall in waves behind her shoulders. Kneeling before him, she began to crawl slowly in his direction. John shifted in his seat, unprepared as Nina’s hands ran up his knees and onto his thighs, pulling the rest of her body up as she looked at him. She brought her knees up, planting each of them on either side of his body to sit in his lap. John didn’t know where to avert his attention. Looking into Nina’s eyes scared him, looking at her body made him feel strange, and looking elsewhere seemed rude. Nina could feel him tense beneath her as she pressed her body onto him. “Are you okay?” she softly asked.  
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, attempting to swallow his fear, looking away. Nina couldn’t help but hesitate herself. She never would have imagined seeing John where she really worked. It was one thing to undress for strangers, but another to undress for the man that she saw almost every day. She tried to focus on the dance, but her mind wandered, wondering how she was going to get through the next few minutes in John’s lap. 

Nina caught sight of John’s quivering lips as he exhaled a shaky breath. She felt the same, but rather than let that show, she steeled herself and kept cool. He’s just another customer, she told herself. Her hand crept up to the knot of his tie, loosening it and swiftly slipping it off his neck. John’s eyes widened as she unbuttoned his shirt slightly, panic thumping in his chest as he worried that Nick might have paid so much money for Nina to do more than just dance for him.

Nina held the tie in her hands, wrapping both ends around her fingers. “Um, what are you-,” he began, eyeing her nervously.  
“Shhh…just relax,” she told him. John sat back, taking a deep breath and exhaling as Nina brought the tie over his eyes to blindfold him. She tied it firmly. John couldn’t tell what Nina planned on doing next, only that there was no going back now. He pressed his knees together, trying to stop his body from shaking. Nina sat again in his lap, facing away from him. She leaned up against him, her head resting on his right shoulder as she made herself comfortable. Slipping her legs between John’s, she gently spread them open, swiveling her hips onto him. Nina could feel his heartbeat race as she brought her lips to his ear. “Does that feel better?” she whispered, her voice tinged with eroticism. A small moan spilled involuntarily from John’s mouth before he admitted a soft, “Yes.” His hands gripped the edges of the couch as Nina lightly moaned into his ear. John could feel himself getting hard, praying that Nina wouldn’t notice despite her close contact. Inevitably, she did.

It wasn’t the first time someone got hard off a dance from Nina. It was a reaction that was bound to happen. As long as they didn’t try to put their hands on her or take it out, she couldn’t care less. They were strangers. 

But John was no stranger. He was her neighbor. She never would have guessed she would feel the sensation of him throbbing beneath her as she teased him. He always seemed so put together in the mornings and afternoons when their schedules crossed paths. But now he was coming undone beneath the tortuous twist of her hips.

“Nina,” John breathed, trying to stay composed but the stimulation was magnified with the loss of one of his senses. Nina responded by slowing her movement, grinding into him more profoundly. He twitched beneath her, unable to hide his excitement anymore. Nina readjusted, turning to face him as she straddled him again. She continued rubbing against him, creating more friction against their bodies. Something inside John began to stir, growing with each stroke of Nina’s hips. He felt her hand creep up his chest and to his face, pulling the tie off from around his eyes. Nina looked down at his dazed expression, his hair slightly askew and his lips parted. She tossed the tie aside, reaching behind to unfasten her bra, holding John’s stare with her own. Fear resided in his pupils as they scanned her calm yet seductive gaze. She peeled the bra from her arms, throwing it to rest in a pile with his tie. John watched as she ran her hands over her breasts, caressing her soft skin that glowed beneath the red lights in the room. How could this be the same girl who lived next door to him?

John could feel Nina rub directly against his erection, riding him steadily. Suddenly, the pressure began to increase rapidly inside him, seeking release. “Nina, wait,” John panicked, grabbing onto her hips to stop her movement. Nina gasped in shock at the sensation of his hands on her body. She recoiled, almost falling back. John quickly wrapped his arms around her to catch her, pulling her close with his right hand at the small of her back while his left arm held her tightly around her lower back. Their faces were only inches away, their eyes connecting as they looked at each other, frozen. John watched as Nina’s stare fell to his lips for a brief moment, then back to his eyes. “Thank you…but we can’t touch,” she whispered, gently pulling away from him. She stood up, reaching for her bra and his tie, giving it to him.  
“I’m sorry,” John said as he rose to his feet, trying to slip on his tie with tremulous fingers. Nina looked over to see him struggling as she adjusted the straps of her bra. “Here,” she said, approaching him and taking the fabric in her hands. He stood still, watching as she first buttoned his shirt back to where it was and then began to refasten his tie. Firmly knotting it once again, she glanced up at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow at one,” she said, stepping back and turning to leave. John stood bewildered as he watched her go. He tried to follow after her to say something but when he emerged from the private room, he couldn’t find her. He looked over the crowd to see her, but she was gone. 

“Hey! You made it out alive, I see?” 

John jolted as Nick dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder, breaking his focus. “So, how was it?” he asked, beginning to walk him back towards their area.  
“I think I need a drink,” John said. His mind was racing with too many thoughts about what had just happened and he felt delirious.  
“She got you worked up, huh?” Nick laughed, looking at John’s flustered face. He passed him the half-full drink in his hand. “Here, finish this. I’ll get you another.” John readily took the glass and began to drink it as if it was water. The vodka shocked his taste buds but had yet to numb his mind from his private dance with Nina. The memories were still too vivid in his mind. Nick took the bottle of Grey Goose that rested on ice and poured a glass for John, dropping a slice of lime in it. John sat down in an empty armchair, his body feeling too heavy to stand. “Here you go,” Nick said, switching the empty glass in John’s hand with a fresh drink.  
“Thank you,” John said, forcing a small smile. He exhaled and began to drink.  
“No problem. You look like you need it,” Nick teased.  
“No more lap dances,” John said sternly, “Please.”  
“I just wanted you to relax, Mulaney. Didn’t you have fun?” John shot him a look, making Nick laugh.  
“Very funny,” John muttered, taking another sip. He looked around behind him, hoping maybe he would spot Nina, but he still couldn’t see her. Maybe she’s with someone else? 

“Still thinking about her?” Nick grinned, nudging John. He turned his attention back to Nick, a little embarrassed that he could be read so easily. “Don’t get emotionally involved with the women here, trust me,” Nick advised. “It’s easy to think there’s more to a dance, but really, it’s just a dance.” John thought back to when Nina’s face was only inches away from his, her breasts pressed against his chest. Something felt different then, beyond the physical. But maybe Nick was right. There was nothing to read into, it’s only a performance. “Yeah,” John agreed, diluting any lingering thoughts of Nina with a vodka straight.


End file.
